Sometimes a delay enhances the starting point of a series. This could have run after Notre Dame finished its regular season with a dominating win at Stanford. It could have been pigeonholed into the immediate aftermath of the Irish blowout of Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl.
Instead, a delay set it up to publish just as sophomore quarterback Phil Jurkovec reportedly entered the transfer portal. In any of those previous timeframes, much of what was written would have been rendered moot. Now, everything below should be accurate for at least a few months.
WHERE NOTRE DAME WAS
In most respects, little has changed for the Irish since August between what was and what is.